1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an arrangement for processing objects at a point-of-transaction site and, more particularly, to a card reader for charging a customer's credit account.
2. Description of Related Art
Targets having indicia of different light reflectivity, such as bar code symbols printed on labels affixed to products, have been electro-optically scanned by directing laser beams to symbols for reflection therefrom. A portion of the reflected laser beam for each symbol was collected by a photodetector having a finite field of view. Each symbol and/or the field of view was scanned by different scan patterns including, but not limited to, a single scan line, a set of generally parallel scan lines, two sets of intersecting parallel scan lines, multiple intersecting scan lines, Lissajous scan patterns, holographic scan patterns, omnidirectional scan patterns, etc.
POS scanners and readers of this general type for electro-optically reading symbols have been disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,251,798; 4,360,798; 4,369,361; 4,387,297; 4,593,186; 4,496,831; 4,409,470; 4,460,120; 4,607,156; 4,673,805; 4,736,095; 4,758,717; 4,760,248; 4,806,742; 4,808,804; 4,825,057; 4,816,661; 4,816,660; 4,845,350; 4,835,374; 4,871,904; D-306,434; D-306,435; as well as pending applications Ser. Nos. 193,265; 265,143; 265,548; 265,149; 264,693; 367,335; 367,007; 429,198; 392,207; and 349,860, all of the aforementioned patents and patent applications having been assigned to the same assignee as the instant application, and being hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Once a product having a symbol-bearing label has been scanned and identified, information such as price relating to the identified product is retrieved from a data base of a host computer. This information is then used, for example, at a supermarket checkout counter to indicate the price of the identified product to a customer.
Although generally satisfactory for its intended purpose, some customers wish to know the price of a product before standing in line at the checkout counter. To assist the customer, some stores post price signs in the vicinity of the products for sale on supermarket shelves. However, those signs are sometimes removed and not replaced on the shelves. More often, the price information is outdated from one day to the next due to price increases or special promotion sales. The only reliable price information is obtained typically only at the checkout counter and, as previously noted, many customers would like to know the price beforehand.
For certain items, for example, meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, etc., whose actual price is a function of weight, the only scale which is determinative of the actual price is the one at the checkout counter. Other in-store scales typically provide guidance only as to the approximate weight of the products. Here, again, it would be desirable for the customer to know the price of the products to be purchased before checking out.
Expediting checkout is also desirable in crowded supermarkets. The aforementioned items that have to be weighed at the checkout counter slow the checkout procedure. It would be desirable to apply machine-readable coded labels to such items in advance of checkout so that they may be automatically read at checkout. Supermarkets often have separate in-store specialty counters, e.g. an appetizing counter, where foodstuffs are weighed and labeled with a price dependent on weight. The foodstuff is identified by manual entry of a numerical code at a keyboard. Such manual entry is prone to human error, with the result that the wrong code and foodstuff is identified.